A Crafting Niche Weekly Update 25th June 2016

It has been a busy week at our house. It's the second week of the craft room build. The footings are down & the blocks have been delivered & positioned ready for the laying on Monday.

I've been baking this week, so that the builders have something to go with their cuppa. Lemon cake, chocolate muffins & ginger flapjacks. (The ginger flapjacks are now one of my favourites).

Craft wise I have been working on my lampshade. It is making progress, but still  a very long way to go.

Now that the longest day is behind us, my thoughts automatically turn to Christmas.  With this in mind I started to play with some stamps with a view to making Christmas cards.  The tree stamp I've used is one from the Stampin' Up Festival Of Trees set.

Today I will be baking again as we're going to visit family. I like to take some baked goods with us for a gift.

Love Sewing Magazine (issue 28)

While in the supermarket this morning, I spotted the new issue of "Love Sewing" magazine.  Initially at £5.99 it seems quite expensive, but when you take into account you get a free pattern and other bits as well as the information in the magazine it is actually good value.

The free pattern in this issue is by "Sew Simple" and is a beginner level tea dress (covering sizes 8-20). It has suggestions for both knee and maxi length of this dress. There are also two other free gifts - a pair of thread snips and a handbag sized sewing kit too.  All this along with other patterns for skirts, tops, bags and more.

There are a host of sewing tips in this issue, including how to create a perfect exposed zip in a garment, working on fine slippery fabrics like silk and satin.  As well as the usual May Martin page.

Talking of The Great British Sewing Bee, I see that on page 42-43 there is a feature on "Sewing The 60's" with pattern suggestions for vintage style dresses & tops from Simplicity.

So having flicked through the magazine, I'm going to sit down with a coffee and study it in more detail.  Have a great Saturday x

The Creation Of A Lampshade.

Last week on TV, I watched a programme on BBC4 at 9pm called "Make! Craft Britain".  It was a fantastic programme featuring two crafts.  Intricate paper cutting and making an embellished lampshade.  You can watch this programme on iplayer by clicking this link.

I absolutely loved the programme as the people teaching the craft were obviously loving what they do and they were not talking down to the group of mixed ability learners in their charge. Reknowned embroidery expert, Marna Lunt was the expert for the embroidered lampshade.  She creates amazing work. Have a look at her site for more information. Having watched the programme, I felt inspired to have a go at the lampshade. So ordered the lampshade kit which has now arrived. (I ordered mine from on-line shop Elephant In My Handbag).

I have an idea of the landscape view that I would like to interpret on a lampshade and have started to sort through my fabric stash for suitable bits.  Most of my fabrics are suitable for dressmaking or patchwork, so I popped along to a local charity shop in search of some woollen tweed type fabrics.  I actually came away with a bag full of goodies, including jackets, shirts, scarves to name just a few.  They've now been washed and are waiting for me to get creative with.

I am feeling a little nervous now that the background work has been done and that I can now start creating.  I suspect it will be a work in progress for some time.  I'll keep you posted.  Here's a photo of some of my fabric selections so far.

A Sewing Morning

This morning I was in a mood for sewing, so made myself these comfy trousers using Simplicity 1668 pattern using a petrol blue coloured fabric which has a small floral design on it.  This is the fourth item I've made using this pattern. Each time the item has turned out perfectly.

It looks like Polly our dog approves too!  These are the other items I've made using the same pattern.

The Great British Sewing Bee - Relief for footie widows

Are you also a footie widow?  It seems that I can not turn on the TV without there being a game on.  Last night there was an hour of light relief from the football in the form of The Great British Sewing Bee (Monday at 9pm on BBC2).  This is the fourth series of TGBSB and just like the previous ones, I am totally addicted.

I have quietly championed Jade, an 18 year old who is so talented for her years.  In the episode last night, which featured garments with a 1960's feel, Jade was successful with her beautiful jacket as "Garment Of The Week".  Jade has a personal blog on Facebook which is called "The Girl With The Bright Red Hair" .

The book that accompanies the series comes complete with a pattern pack and costs about £10 from Amazon at the moment.  I have all four books and they are fabulous bibles of information on how to create items that will actually fit you.  A must for any budding dressmaker.

Crafting Storage Solutions

As a crafter, I am very aware of how I hoard bits & bobs that I think may come in useful for a future project.  Due to the many years I have been hoarding, storage has become an issue, especially as I have a touch of OCD - well ok, more than a touch! I like to store my items in an orderly fashion, but equally they have to be easily accessible too. 

My long suffering Hubby has become accustomed to me dashing down the aisle of the hardware store when I see a lovely display of plastic boxes, often saying "do you really need more"? Generally my plastic box of choice are "RUBS" or "Really Useful Boxes" which can be found in many outlets. They're ideal for all sorts as they are stackable allowing the contents to be clearly seen.

However, they are not the prettiest of things, so I tend to store small items in jars, bowls and cups.  Because I like pretty too, I store my buttons in old glass coffee jars that I purchased at a local auction.

I have a Pinterest Board with all sorts of storage variables, which can be viewed by clicking this link.

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Welcome to "A Crafting Niche" where I will be sharing with you crafting makes and craft related things that interest me.